Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clerk and registrar brief Terrebonne Parish Council on closed-primary voting and deadlines
Summary
Clerk of Court Jody Burton and Registrar Rhonda Rogers told the Terrebonne Parish Council that May 16 and June 27 will be closed-party primaries, explained the declaration-of-ballot-choice process for no‑party voters, urged residents to check registrations by the April 15 deadline and described outreach and commissioner recruitment.
At a Terrebonne Parish Council meeting, Jody Burton, Terrebonne Parish Clerk of Court, and Rhonda Rogers, the parish registrar of voters, outlined how new state rules will affect local closed-party primaries on May 16 and a possible June 27 runoff.
"Act 1 of the 2024 first extraordinary session of the state legislature brought 4 changes in the way that these 2 election dates are going to be handled as a closed primary," Burton told the council, explaining that only registered party members will receive that party's primary ballot on those dates. She and Rogers said no‑party (unaffiliated) voters will be asked at the precinct to complete a declaration‑of‑ballot‑choice form selecting either the Democratic, Republican or unaffiliated ballot for that election day.
The presenters emphasized practical steps for voters: check registration and party affiliation well before the April 15 registration deadline so the change will be effective for May. Rogers said her office currently has about 2,000 mail‑ballot voters on file and that roughly 18,000 parish residents were registered with no party as of February, numbers she gave to illustrate the scale of the outreach challenge. "If you declare no party, you will vote that unaffiliated ballot, those amendments," Rogers said, describing how early-voting and mail ballots will be handled.
Officials said they will distribute informational flyers supplied by the secretary of state, run segments on local HTV, post materials on office websites and conduct business‑district outreach. They also asked council members to help recruit precinct commissioners for election day and explained current pay: "a certified commissioner is getting paid $200 per election; your commissioner in charge is making $250," Burton said, and noted pending legislation (House Bill 205) seeking to increase those rates.
Council members asked about on‑site voter assistance and whether voting machines or apps will display only a voter's party ballot. Burton and Rogers said sample ballots will be available at early voting, commissioners will be trained to assist no‑party voters, and the Go Vote app will show the voter their individual ballot. Rogers encouraged residents to call the registrar's office at (985) 873‑6533 for help verifying registration and party status.
The council took no action beyond receiving the briefing; officials scheduled informational outreach and said they will return for questions as needed.
